


All of Eternity

by Synthetic_Miracle



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: (I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Delores), AU, Angst, Fae & Fairies, Five really just wants to go home to his siblings, Five tries to time travel..., Five-centric, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Intelligence isn't enough to save you here, Magic/enchantments, Mind Control, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, but it does not take him where he expects, but the universe is hella cruel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-12-18 03:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18241133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synthetic_Miracle/pseuds/Synthetic_Miracle
Summary: When Five tried to time travel, he did not expect to end up here, in this eternal place where time itself is both fleeting and forever. He didn't expect to end up trapped in a realm where a single misstep could get him killed (or worse). Now, all that he really wants is to get back to his family, but fate is cruel and seems hellbent on keeping him from them.





	1. Rule One: Be polite, very polite. Fae are eternal, and as such respect propriety.

**Author's Note:**

> “Real fairytales end in blood or tears.”

It was remarkably gratifying for Five to burst out of the front of the Academy, away from its stifling confines. He’d prove Dad wrong, he was ready to time travel, no matter what Dad said. Besides, he made it through pretty well, transporting himself through different seasons with absolutely no problem, just like he’d calculated.

Like falling through the ice and becoming an acorn my _ass,_ Five thought as he walked through the bone-chilling winter air. Time for another jump, a little further this time. The air crackled with blue around him as he began to teleport again, but by the time he realized something was off, he’d already committed.

This place- it was very, very wrong. Everything was gorgeous yet warped. Even the air felt sweet, but overwhelmingly so. There were giant, vibrant flowers blooming all around the clearing he found himself in, beckoning him to come closer, but as Five took a second glance, he could see they had sharp teeth ready to snap shut on him. Where the hell was he? This world looked vaguely similar to Earth, but… there was no way it was Five’s home, right? Even as he stood still, Five felt dizzy. The whole area screamed deadly beauty, like a venomous, colorful snake in the seconds before it sunk its needle-like fangs into your leg.

Five was hesitant to speak, to call out into this unknown place, knowing that whatever answered would likely be unfriendly at best. He tried to teleport away, go back to his home in his time, but his powers fizzled out.

“Come on,” he muttered, putting all his energy into futilely jumping out of- well, wherever he was. Still, no matter how many times he tried to jump away, the most Five’s efforts could accomplish was distorting the heavily perfumed air around him.

Out of the relative quiet, Five heard a smooth, cold voice speak, “Why hello, hello. Who do we have here?”

Five looked around frantically, trying to find the speaker. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised when he finally laid eyes on it, but it was still startling when he saw someone who was, without a doubt, not human. It was as hauntingly beautiful as the rest of this strange realm seemed to be, all sharp and elegant lines, skin inhumanly pale. Its eyes were entirely a deep, dark blue, with lips the color of human blood, hair the shade of pale sunlight, and nails long and sharp enough to easily slice through his throat.

“Nobody, just a traveler,” Five replied shakily, remembering some of the unsettling fairytales he’d heard as a child. He suddenly wished that he’d paid a bit more attention to those tall tales, rather than disregarding most of the stories when he delved deeper into science and math.

“Ah, a rare mortal traveler. I was under the impression your sort didn’t often dare venture here. After all, it’s just so easy for you to get trapped forever,” the creature replied, baring its (her?) teeth in a macabre imitation of a smile. Its grin was extra unsettling in that it had far too many teeth, most of them dangerously pointed.

Five tried not to show any fear- he didn’t want to give this thing any leverage at all, so he’d have to tread very, very carefully.

“I came upon this realm by mistake, but would you like to introduce yourself and inform me more about it?” Five asked, putting on a mask of false confidence. If he was where he thought he was, Five knew he would be absolutely screwed. Just this once, he probably should have listened to Reginald, even if the man was slightly wrong about the consequences his time travel would have.

The creature’s smile didn’t lose any of its intensity as it answered, “You, young mortal, may call me the Handler. As for where you are, why you’re lucky enough to have stumbled into Faerie, the realm of the Fae!”

Five swallowed hard, but nodded in response, careful to avoid thanking the Handler. How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one? He was stranded in some random clearing in the land of the Fae, where everything was strange, he had absolutely no defense, and he couldn’t risk eating or drinking anything.

Five figured his wisest course of action would probably be to start walking away now before he accidentally found himself indebted to the Handler, or worse. So, he sharply turned, put his hands in his pockets, and started walking, careful to give the carnivorous flowers a wide berth. He picked his way carefully, making sure not to step on even the little mushrooms that formed a circle around the clearing where he’d appeared. Before he even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, however, he heard the Handler’s near-silent footsteps echoing behind him, just barely out of time with his own.

“You know, it’s rather rude to leave so abruptly after I’ve been so welcoming,” the Handler told Five in a mockingly kind tone, lightly holding his shoulder in her sharp grasp so he couldn’t continue walking away.

Five half turned around and gave her a smile in return, though it was the predatory sort of grin that he would give to criminals whenever they’d come close to harming his siblings- no joy behind it, but plenty of malice. He then bowed his head in a short sign of respect before twisting out of the Handler’s way and moving along.

“Ah ah ah, I rather think that you owe me a favor for the information you asked for, as I did deliver,” the Handler tried again. Five paused for a moment, wondering if he’d already doomed himself before he remembered his exact wording.

“Actually,” Five responded, back still to the Handler, “I had asked if you wanted to tell me that, and apparently you did, so I don’t owe you anything.”

The Handler hissed at the impudent mortal, but Five just continued on his way. As he wandered farther from the clearing, the world was already changing drastically, the forest much darker and foreboding than even the disenchantingly perfect clearing. He could see lights glinting off in the shadowed distance, dancing among the tall trees and practically begging him to follow them, but his gut feeling was to mistrust them, so he just carried on his current path.

Just as he was letting some of the stress from his interaction with the Handler fade away, it dropped right in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Hello again,” the Handler started, “I wasn’t quite happy with how our last conversation went, especially since you were rather discourteous, so here I am!”

“It saddens me that you aren’t content, but I won’t be doing any favors for you,” Five told her as respectfully and carefully as he could.

“Ah, but I don’t think you have a choice, not after you were so rude earlier,” the Handler said with a snap of its long, deadly fingers.

Five felt as if his head was suddenly stuffed with cotton, but in a pleasantly floaty way. He was ready to go along with the wonderful faerie, to help out in any way he was asked. He followed along loyally behind the Handler, not taking in his horribly marvelous surroundings as he went.

Five had no concept of time or discomfort as he trailed his master, though eventually, he did realize that he was inside a grand home once he was addressed.

“Well, my dear, I think you’ll be wonderfully suited as a servant at my estate for now, though don’t despair! Your job with me might change, as I’ve seen fire and cleverness in you that could make an excellent spy once you’re a tad more… broken in,” the Handler told Five, who nodded along happily, feeling ecstatic that he would get to be so useful here.

Yes, he would be happy to serve the glorious Handler for all eternity.


	2. Rule Two: Names have power. Give yourself a nickname, or no name at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Here in a forest,  
> dark and deep,  
> I offer you,  
> eternal sleep."

Five served the Handler well as a servant, but even after a few years had passed, the Handler knew there was a better use for him- if only the enthrallment could let him use that cunningness he’d displayed. It could have been interesting to see how he did in Faerie on his own, but sadly the mortal had had no possible way to resist the potent enchantment that had been put on him. Maybe if he had been a bit more courteous when leaving, the Handler would have let him go for the entertainment he would have surely provided, but alas, the Handler didn’t tolerate disrespect, especially not from such a potentially useful little servant.

 

What to do, what to do? The Handler wasn’t sure if the little mortal taken under its custody years ago could be tamed enough to be a loyal spy, but he was being wasted as a servant. Despite his dangerous abilities, he looked like a frail, young human who would be too innocent and naive to possibly be a threat to anyone, so the Handler realized it needed to just bite the bullet and put him to good use.

 

“Here, Fox,” the Handler called him. In lew of his actual name, as the enchantment couldn't force him to unwillingly reveal that, the Handler had nicknamed its favorite little mortal servant Fox, due to his slyness. Over the years he’d been captive, despite being enchanted the whole time, the sneaky little thing had almost broken free of the spell twice, though naturally he’d been severely punished each time (the scars would never fade, even if Fox wouldn’t be able to remember the experiences until he was freed from its spell). Thankfully, almost nothing could bring him back to reality anymore- the Handler no longer allowed groups of siblings to visit the estate, as they seemed to break through little Fox’s mental fog and imbue him with enough fighting spirit to almost figure out how to completely escape the enchantment.

 

Five obediently wandered over to the Handler, who took his hand in its grasp. With its other hand, the Handler let out a loud, cracking snap. Five shook his head, feeling it clear for the first time in ages. He immediately teleported to the other end of the room, putting distance between him and the manipulative fae.

 

“Tt tt, little Fox. You’ve served me for over a decade now, throughout which I have fed and clothed you and kept you young. I’ve even been so courteous as to give you mortal food so that you would remain healthy and of an able mind. So, although you have been unenchanted, you will still serve me because you owe me.”

 

Five looked down at the semi-familiar faerie garb he was wearing, which was nice and silky, pocketless and finer than any mortal clothing,  though he’d been too far into the haze of his mind to really notice it. Despite having been with the Handler for, apparently, over a decade, Five only looked about thirteen or fourteen, which was mildly disturbing. He wanted nothing more than to escape, to get back home to his family, but he knew that he couldn’t yet, with the Handler wanting him for… something, something that it had freed him from that damned enchantment for.

 

“What do you want?” Five asked, doing his best not to yell or cry or growl.

 

“Simple. I want you to be my spy and assassin in Court. You’ll head wherever I tell you, mortal servants can go practically anywhere without looking suspicious, and do what I order. You already know how to fight, plus I will give you more training, but you will serve me loyally like this, or else be spellbound forever more,” the Handler stated, making it obvious he had no other choice.

 

“Fine,” Five ground out, “I’ll be your little spy for now. But answer me this- will you ever free me?”

 

The Handler smiled its toothy, menacing smile and laughed harshly, not deigning to respond.

 

And so, Five threw himself into the Handler’s stupid training, observing and learning everything he could about the fae and their world, honing himself into an even more deadly weapon. By the time he was mission-ready, Five could pick out mortal food from fae, find poisonous plants to use against the Handler’s enemies just about anywhere, and kill anything without mercy. Though, of course, the Handler made sure to let Five know that if he were to assassinate it with his new knowledge, he would be cursed with a painful death immediately, courtesy of the fae mark the Handler had kindly branded just beneath his collarbone at the start of his servitude.

 

Five almost thought assassinating it would be worth the excruciating death, it's not like it could hurt his siblings if he did, and that's all that really mattered anyway, but he decided he valued escaping more. He'd rather not die without hearing Vanya play one last time, messing with Klaus again, getting to talk with Ben another time, roughhousing with Diego once more, or having another chance to tease Allison and Luther. 

 

The one thing Five was never taught in all his training was how to repel or break enchantments, but he vowed to figure that out himself. The Handler felt he could pretend to be a bewitched servant well enough, so there was no point in teaching him such dangerous information. It was obnoxiously correct, as Five knew that once he did figure it out on his own, he’d find his way back to the mortal world and his siblings, no matter what it took. Once he could resist faerie enchantments, they'd have no way to control him. He could go back to his siblings and protect them, without having to risk being forced to murder them all in cold blood. (The thought of ruthlessly slaughtering them all with an empty smile on his face haunted many of Five's plethora of nightmares.)

 

As soon as Five's training was complete, he worked on figuring out the best way to return home, because he absolutely would learn how to resist enchantment, it was only a matter of time, and when that threat of mindless servitude was gone, he'd be gone too.

 

“As a reward for completing your training so successfully, I’ve returned the clothes you originally came to this realm in. You’ll find them in your quarters, along with the details for your first mission,” the Handler told Five after he was deemed suitable for missions. He nodded gratefully in response, taking care to avoid thanking it, despite the fact that he was already indebted. He was surprised at the minuscule attempt at kindness, but he supposed that it would want to be on his good side now.

 

Upon returning to his room and seeing his Umbrella Academy uniform, Five let out the first tears he had shed since he’d left the mortal realm. Why did fate decide to stick him in this godforsaken place, away from his family? Why did he have to try to prove himself in the first place, rebel against Reginald? Five didn’t let himself dwell on that for too long, though the faces of his siblings always seemed to haunt his dreams anyway (in-between his nightmares of being captive in his own mind, of being tortured and puppeted by the Handler), reminding him of all that he’d foolishly lost, and all that he could still lose if he messed up. Still, he couldn't think too long on those, least of all now when he had a mission to complete.

 

His first job went off without a hitch. With the memories of being bewitched still fresh in his mind, it was child's play to fake the empty, far-away smile as he wandered into a starkly beautiful mansion dressed as an enslaved human servant in the midst of a party. He carried a tray of refreshments, none of which he could ever hope to drink and remain sane. Nobody questioned him at all, though he had to fight back a cringe at some of the hungry looks he saw thrown his way, and physically restrain himself from stabbing a faerie that drunkenly grabbed at his arm. Five internally shuddered at the thought of the torments that many of these immortals wanted to put him through, some of his scars twinging from the things others had done to him the last time he was enchanted. Still, Five succeeded at remaining inconspicuous and made his way through the intoxicated faeries, carefully ignoring the music that beckoned for him to dance and never stop.

 

His target was lounging on a silk chaise, flirting and talking with some of his guests, but the fae didn't stand a chance after Five found him and poisoned his cup of wine, doing so quickly and slickly enough that it was nearly impossible for even sharp fae eyesight to notice. Five didn't know why this fae, his gold eyes filled with such happiness, needed to die, but it was not his place to question orders. Five was long gone by the time his target's eyes filled with tears of pain rather than laughter, by the time the fae's horned head crashed against the shining marble floor and the screaming started. 

 

Thoughts of home drove Five to succeed as Fox through mission after mission until eventually, he was the best spy in Faerie. He killed indiscriminately, rooted up secrets ruthlessly, and served the Handler "loyally." Fox eventually became a faceless legend amongst the fae, a name whispered fearfully in the shadowy corners of the Court. Nobody, in any of the countless theories, hypothesized that the deadly spy was a human boy with a power of his own, which suited both Five and the Handler’s needs perfectly. Five was never, ever caught, no matter the job. Poisoning, stabbing, or intelligence-gathering, Five always stealthily and mercilessly accomplished them all; the one time he was almost noticed, he teleported away, leaving the soon-to-be corpse thinking they'd just imagined him on the edge of their vision. 

 

One fateful night, after a particularly soul-crushing mission, when Five was feeling mournful and wearing his Umbrella Academy uniform for nostalgia’s sake, the Handler summoned him a job in the mortal realm. This wasn’t necessarily unusual, as he’d accompanied the Handler on little trips there before. However, upon reading the mission guideline, Five knew he couldn’t go through with it. 

 

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Five spoke up, “Why do you need the Hargreeves family assassinated?”

 

The Handler gave him that dangerous, tooth-filled smile, “Well, it seems that Reginald Hargreeves has found out about the existence of the fae and has plans to inform his trained family of superhumans about how to deal with us. So, naturally, they must _all_ be eliminated.”

 

Five wanted so, sobadly to agree. He wanted to go to the mortal world and warn his family, but he knew he couldn’t. He didn’t know how to resist enchantments yet, so if he did go back, if he betrayed the Handler, his weaknesses and identity would be revealed. The Handler could just force him to kill his family anyway. Flashes of his siblings filled his mind- of Diego, bleeding out, stabbed with his own knife, of choking Vanya with his own hands, of forcing Klaus to fatally overdose, of shooting Ben in the head. Even though he wasn't that close to Allison and Luther, he didn't want to be forced to kill them either, to slice Allison's throat right open or inject a fatal poison into Luther.

 

No, none of that could be allowed to happen, no matter the consequences for FIve. If he rebelled here, in Faerie, at least the Handler wouldn’t know he had a personal connection and enchant him to go, he’d just return to being a mindless servant forever. He shuddered at the thought of that thick, horrible fog which would soon envelop his every thought, making the world seem soft and sweet when in reality, he’d be a powerless and empty shell.

 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I draw the line at assassinating humans,” Five responded, knowing that with his words, his fate was sealed. So what if that was technically a lie? Fae, while being masterful deceivers themselves, often had a hard time telling when he was blatantly lying, as they could only speak the truth (however much they twisted it for their own benefit). It was part of what made him a valuable spy, and apparently what would help protect his siblings. So long as the Handler never figured out the connection, never learned that Five refused his orders because he was being told to assassinate the ones he loved, Five had confidence his family could defeat whatever other lackeys it sent.

 

Five’s brief last thought before the dooming noise cracked, before his mind was no longer his own, was that at least-at least his family would be safe. The sharp, resounding snap was almost instantaneous, however, and the floaty, numbing veil was drawn back over his mind. And, this time, the Handler had no intention of ever letting him go.


	3. Rule Three: Be very, very prepared, for mortals have no natural protection against the Fae.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I want to be back on the ground  
> Where my feet touch my shadow  
> I want to dig my heels in the dirt  
> Feel it break between all of my toes  
> Anything to stop floating ‘round  
> Bring me down  
> Back down below."

Pleasant, thoughtless dreams filled Five’s mind, and he couldn’t bring himself to care that any fear, any anger, any spirit at all, had drifted out of his reach. He couldn’t really think or feel, anyhow, couldn’t grasp at his once-bright and unending reservoir of strategies and cunning. What use would it be, anyway, when he had everything he’d ever wanted here, with his master?

 

Ah, what a waste of a perfectly good spy, the Handler thought. It should have realized that even a talented mortal would be too weak, but it was disappointed nonetheless. Spineless, disobedient little Fox would pay dearly for this indeed.

 

The Handler held out a taloned hand for Five to take, presumably to drag him, its mindless puppet, along to whatever punishment awaited. Five did so without thinking, taking his hand out of his pocket and accidentally pulling it inside-out in his enchanted fumbling.

 

Five moved to put his hand in the Handler’s, but with a jolt, his head grew clear, and the muffling, pleasant cloud seemed banished from his mind.  The suffocating sleepy warmth and dreams were snapped away as suddenly as a taut rubber band, releasing its chokehold on Five's typically cold and calculating thoughts. The Handler started shaking its head in confusion, uncharacteristically stumbling away in dismay.

 

“What-” the Handler whispered, confounded until its bottomless eyes fell onto Five’s messed up pocket. Five backed away quickly, his heart beating rapidly as he realized what had just happened again, what would have been his all too permanent fate this time around. He followed the Handler’s confused stare to his untucked pocket before everything suddenly clicked into place.

 

God, such a simple solution. FIve felt like an absolute imbecile. Somehow, miraculously, he’d messed up his pocket, which broke the enchantment he’d been under. Fae rules were rather odd, but Five should have seen this coming, as they could be harmed with iron and salt (which were seldom found in Faerie, due to the danger they posed). If he'd just been so careless with his pockets  _decades_ ago, none of this would have happened... but there was no time to dwell on such impossibilities now.

 

Five was ridiculously grateful for the sheer dumb luck that had granted him such a break, and teleported the hell out of the Handler’s estate, into the woods. It was imperative he move quickly, as he could already hear the Handler raging inside its manor, having quickly recovered from its stunned state. He could see vaguely familiar, inhuman shapes rushing past the windows to attend its orders. Apparently, his newly learned little trick would be best as a distraction, not for incapacitation.

 

Five sped up his pace, knowing all too well the kinds of terrors it could send after him. Of course, he also knew that he could take any of said horrors on their own, should the worst come to happen. He certainly didn’t want to be around to face all of them at once though, not with his old scars burning in memory of what things they’d do to him for _fun_ , much less when they were ordered to attack, to kill. Hell, one of his first experiences during his time enchanted was when a particularly sadistic fae lackey of the Handler’s had forced him to dance and dance, mauling him with its claws if his frail mortal body faltered from exhaustion. Five had just kept smiling emptily the whole time, even as his limbs struggled with the exertion and blood ran down his back. Thankfully, it had let him go after a few hours, once the morning light had begun to drive most of the Handler’s household to bed and it grew bored.

 

Brushing off his memories, Five focused on his one goal in mind- to make it back to the clearing he’d first arrived in. He’d learned that the mushrooms surrounding it meant it was a fairy ring, a place where the boundaries between the mortal and fae worlds were very thin. If he couldn’t teleport on his own, the ring would likely take him to its counterpart in some mortal forest, but as it was he’d just be using it to make his own jump a thousand times easier. Five wouldn’t need to have the equations normally needed for such a task prepared, so long as he could get to the ring.

 

As he ran through the forest, Five didn’t pay any heed to the will o’ the wisps, nor the other creatures that curiously peeped at his frantic sprinting through their domain. They were no longer foreign to him, not this time, and he wouldn't be distracted by them now. He absolutely _had_ to make it out of this realm before the Handler brought the full might of its wrath down upon him.

 

Five didn’t take the time to heave a sigh of relief or catch his breath as he jumped over the small white mushrooms surrounding the clearing, careful not to disturb any in his haste. Unlike last time, he’d made sure to not teleport too much on his journey, so he’d actually have the strength needed to transverse realms. And, sure enough, Five could feel that the jump would be right this time as his powers crackled to life. The blue light and familiar slipperiness he always felt before a jump had never seemed so sweet, so triumphant. Good luck catching me now, Five thought.

 

A split second later, Five found himself no longer taking in the heavy, intoxicating air of the faerie realm, but the light, fresh air of home. This was his world _,_  and he could exist in it freely for the first time in… damn, three years? It had been much, much longer for him in the land of the Fae, decades in fact, but Five was thankful that at least his siblings would be in their teens rather than their fifties, even if he'd be stuck perpetually looking younger. Five ran to the Academy, making sure he’d kept both his pockets untucked (as soon as he was able, he’d start wearing his socks inside-out too, and maybe put his coat on backward for the hell of it). He threw open the ornate door of the mansion with reckless abandon, for once not caring if the world heard him.

  

“Hello? Is anybody home? It’s me, Five,” Five called out, voice cracking and fading a little at the end as he tried to hold in his tears. He was finally, finally back, but none of it would feel real until he could see his siblings again. He knew that this world was too imperfect to be one of the many visions his mind had been drugged with while bewitched, but still, Five couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around the thought of _home._  He was so close to seeing his family again after decades of constant, carefully hidden fear, but he couldn't begin to comprehend that he was really back until he was reunited with his siblings.

 

Vanya was first to run down the stairs, unbelieving at first, yet she was quick to embrace him in a tearful hug the moment she registered that it was truly him. Five was home, and after years of untouched sandwiches and lights left futilely shining, Vanya finally had her brother, her best friend, again.

 

“Where were you? Oh, never mind, I’m just so glad you’re back!”

 

“I-I’m really glad to be home, too, I’ve missed you so much.”

 

The others would probably never be able to grasp exactly how much it had pained him, being apart from his bothersome, amazing siblings for a lifetime, with only memories to sustain him as he worked and fought and deceived his way to survival. Even so, Five knew that his siblings at least would still love him, try to help him recover, though Dad would be another story entirely.

 

It didn’t take the others much time to run down the stairs and crush their (now physically younger) brother in an emotional group hug. In Five’s touch-starved opinion, it was the best thing he’d ever experienced, even if his blood seemed to itch and heat under his skin, his body unused to friendly touch.

 

“F-Five, you’re-you’re back!” Diego exclaimed, hovering as close to Five as he could comfortably get while Ben and Klaus practically strangled Five in their arms, refusing to let him go for even a second. Five happily noted that Diego’s stutter had improved remarkably,  but his soul panged when he realized that he could have been around to see it happen, if not for his stupid mistake so long ago.

 

“You’re lookin pretty young still, baby brother,” Klaus added teasingly, though it was obvious that he was relieved that Five was home. It was as if an invisible weight had been lifted off his thin shoulders. Five figured that Klaus hadn’t expected to see him again, at least not alive, which was a new kind of heartbreak that he’d shove aside for now, knowing that was one of the reasons why Klaus couldn’t bear to let him go yet. If he was dead, Klaus wouldn’t be able to touch him at all.

 

Ben shook his head a little, seemingly in exasperation at Klaus, but didn’t loosen his grip any. He was trying to forcefully transmit his feelings through trapping Five in this hug forever, dampening his shirt with tears, though Five didn’t mind. Ben had always been one of his favorite siblings, so he knew without speaking just how much Ben was going through emotionally with his disappearance and return; Five was failing to find the words to say himself. He could barely hear as Ben whispered through his quiet sobs, “Welcome home.”

 

“We’ve missed you a lot,” Allison added from next to Luther, both having withdrawn from the hug after a reasonable amount of time, unlike Ben and Klaus. While he wasn’t particularly close to either of them, Five was ridiculously grateful to see Allison and Luther again. No matter how they bickered, he'd missed them when they were no longer around to annoy him.

 

Vanya was still clutching Five’s hand, though she’d left the hug once it was clear that _some people_ wouldn’t be letting go of her favorite brother anytime soon.

 

“I really can’t believe I finally made it back,” Five said incredulously, a few tears still running down his cheeks.

 

“Made it back from where?” Reginald Hargreeves asked, his emotions inscrutable as always, as he slowly made his way downstairs. Diego noticeably rolled his eyes at Dad, which brought some extra, petty joy to Five’s little disused heart (at least, Five considered it to be tiny and disused, he was certain it couldn't be anything but with all the atrocities he’d committed).

 

“The land of the Fae. They want to assassinate you, old man. But, I can tell you all that shit later. For now, just try untucking your pockets. Faeries, it seems, get confused when clothing is worn inside-out, which could be enough to help you resist enchantment. Maybe make yourself useful and grab some iron, too. You probably already know that iron’s the best way to actually repel the fae, after all, seeing as you allegedly had plans to deal with them. At the moment, however, I just need to spend some time with you guys again.”

 

Five wasn’t about to get grilled by Dad the moment he got back, no matter how red his face grew (at least anger was an emotion, which really was a step up for Dad anyway). Besides, being able to snark without fearing for his life and soul was a very gratifying feeling. 

 

Instead of listening to Reginald’s complaints, he just hugged Klaus and Ben back a little harder, gripped Vanya’s hand a bit tighter. Five looked happily over at Allison and Luther and smiled a bit tearfully at Diego. He was going to spend some time with his siblings first and foremost. After all, with his family was where he’d truly want to spend all of eternity.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this whole AU was really fun to write, but it's good to have it finished haha. A huge thank you to everybody who's commented, they always made my day and it's truly wonderful motivation. Hopefully, I managed to keep everybody fairly in character, but if not then oh well I guess. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story!

**Author's Note:**

> I might have a minor obsession with faeries, so naturally, I thought of Five heading to the Fae realm instead of the apocalypse. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, kudos and comments are always very much appreciated!


End file.
